Because She Will Fall Again
by SyCoalaIX
Summary: And again, and again. Could he be the one to finally catch her? Only time will tell, but then again, he has never been exceptionally great with time. Rating subject to change.
1. White Rabbit

_**Author's Note: Yeah so this is the product of 3 a.m. and chocolate chip cookies. Arisu is, according to Google, Japanese for Alice. It felt wrong to use Alice, or to translate Kakashi, since Kakashi means scarecrow. So yeah Alice is now Arisu, besides ultimately this is set more so in the Naruto universe with Alice in Wonderland inspired characters rather than the opposite. Reviews if you please?**_

A very blonde young woman sat beneath a very old willow tree, with a leather bound book open, resting on her lap. The wind did as it does, and willow branches shuddered around her. Autumn was unfolding; the forest was a watercolour of red, yellow, with still a bit of green. Amongst all the vibrancy, a fluff of white caught her eye. She quickly forgot the character of her book and the conflict completely, instead squinting rudely at the extrinsic object.

"A Rabbit"? She thought. No, it was not in the shape of a rabbit. It was too spiky at the one end, rabbits are after all known for their very smooth, very round shape.

The white thing rustled then rotated, revealing its other side to show it was nothing else besides a pale human face. She wondered briefly if perhaps the head was not attached to a body, but reasoned that since there was no blood in its hair the head must be where nature intended.

Curiosity bubble inside the young girl, followed by a dousing of cool shame, see her mother had always warned her not to indulge curiosity, because of the misfortune it would bring.

"But the poor fool has fallen asleep in the woods", she justified aloud. She had also been raised with better manners than to let someone carelessly sleep in the woods and get eaten by a bear, you know.

She had on cotton white stockings embossed with dozens of roses. Her contrasting ebony shoes neatly sat by her side along with a yellow book bag. She had been reclined, back against the willow tree with her legs stretched out before her, and when she stood she realized the dewy floor of the forest had tinged the back of her thighs a yellow-green.

"This would not do", she thought, for she knew it was rude to introduce herself to a stranger in dirty clothes, especially when saving their life. She peeled then off one leg at a time, revealing two very white legs. She revelled in the feeling of bareness, wiggling her toes and catching long blades of grass between them.

Her shoulders ached a bit, she had after all been sitting for quite a long time- to be completely accurate it had been exactly six chapters of Tom Sawyer. She stretched her arms behind her head. The left one first, then the right. She bent down to touch her toes. Her back cracked by the provocation, and she waited a while before straightening up. Dusting the sides of her fairy blue dress, she began moving forward.

She stopped five steps short of the sleeping face, of which she noticed was male. His face was slim, nearly gaunt, although it could just be the evening light. The male's most prominent feature, she decided, was the long vertical scar running over his left eye. Arisu found herself wishing she could be the barer of such a thing; how fantastic the story must be that accompanied the marking. She thought he must be a warrior, maybe even a knight. If she had found him on the beach she'd have thought him a pirate.

Her own breath caught in her throat when she realized that her previous assessment, the one regarding the lack of blood, was upsettingly incorrect. There was blood, quite a bit actually, and the scene reminded her brazenly of the time she had spilt Mother's "Crabby Apple" acrylic paint across the living room floor. Due to the blood, she knew this stranger wasn't sleeping at all, but that he was probably unconscious.

It was unfortunate that she of all people had to have found him, Arisu imagined it was better her than many other people, at the very least she wasn't apathetic or psychotic. Ideally, of course, it would have been someone with medical training, for his sake he would most likely agree.

She knelt down, peering at his face again briefly, then down the rest of him. She noticed the blood, despite being very messy seemed to be coming from a single location. To ensure her efforts would not be in vain she placed her left index finger beneath the man's nose. His breath, feeble but still there encouraged Arisu, so she trained her attention on his naval. A single gash extending horizontally from the middle, five fingertips to the right. She pressed on the edge of it and watched his face for a reaction. His face twisted a bit and his eyes flicked open only a single breath later.

He looked down to where he had felt the pressure. She, remembering her manners, stood and bowed looking forward with clear blue eyes. "How do you do?" she inquired with an empty happiness. He closed his eyes. Blushing a light pink she realized the inappropriateness of her statement, perhaps it would have been better to introduce herself first, and so she did: "My name is Arisu Ito, it is very nice to meet you", she faltered, but couldn't stop herself from adding, "even if it was on complete accident, you see at first I thought you might be a rabbit".

The man's eyes remained closed but his unmarred eyebrow rose a hair or two, but since he gave no verbal reply Arisu felt it might be right to try and kindle a conversation, after all when you meet someone it is polite to learn and remember their name.

"What is your name?" she asked. He turned his head to look at her, she noticed it seemed to take a lot of effort, "Water", he rasped.

"I'm sorry", she said placing a hand on her hip and leaning, almost not noticeably, closer to him, "but that is a very strange name." She was about to try and continue a conversation by asking where he was from, when the meaning of what he said hit her.

"Right", she whispered, shaking her head. That was not his name at all. No one was named water, not anybody in the world. He wanted water, and coincidentally she knew where to get it.

There was a creek, she remembered, a little that way. She smiled at him before spinning on one bare foot to march off to where memory directed her.

Kakashi turned his head back, once he had watched her walk away, so that he was looking at the canopy of trees, and prepared himself for death. It was impossible for him to stand lest his guts decorate the forest floor- more than they already had. He was only moderately irritated that a child had found him, and one lacking a sense of reality at that. He closed his eyes.

As Arisu had begun heading toward the creek she noticed she had no bucket, nor anything that could serve as such, but before she got too far she remembered her tights she had left beneath the willow tree. They could hold water. She knew they could, because last summer she had worn them into a lake and they didn't dry until the sun had risen the next morning.

The barefoot girl carried, in both hands, one pair of water logged tights as she whistled her way back to the bleeding man. The man heard the whistling, and of course whistling sounds the same no matter who does it; so, he didn't realize it was the girl returning with his requested comfort until she plopped down, crossing her legs as she sat and brought a bunched white fabric to his lips. He drank, and all things considered, was impressed both by her ability to whistle and her resourcefulness.

He looked into her eyes then, he was feeling more like himself at the moment, enough so his interest sparked. He realized as he looked into her pale blue eyes, that perhaps he had misjudged her age. She looked late teens, early twenties. His age. She was also very pretty he noticed, her features a hypnotizing combination of sharp and soft. She noticed him watching her, as people do.

"What is your name?" she asked him again, this time her voice an octave deeper, her lips unsmiling.

Clearing his throat he answered, "Kakashi Hatake". She merely nodded, because on her way back from the creek she decided that she did not care where he came from because she thought he would lie if she asked. His face fit someone accustomed to altering the truth, maybe not outright lying, like her son did, but a more effective, less intrusive, twist of the truth. Those lies, she knew, always led to the most interesting consequences.

"Mr. Hatake, do you want me to help move you somewhere besides the forest, it gets quite unbearable in the night"

"I don't mind the dark", he assured, immediately scolding his pride as the effort of the phrase ripped a pain through him.

"Or", she started, interjecting his thoughts. "I could get my sewing kit from under the willow tree and see if I can stitch you back together."

He had before experienced haphazard first aid, and this familiarity was in no way reassuring, but the idea of this small girl lugging though the forest, or leaving him for the vultures was nausea inducing. He slowly lowered his head, a nod.

"I do not have anything to clean your cut, or my needle", she mentioned returning moments after she left, "but I've yet to use the kit, so it shouldn't be too dirty". Kakashi cringed.

"I have alcohol in my back pocket, my right", he stated slowly as to not have to repeat it. Without hesitation Arisu reached into his pocket, despite the fact he was lying on his back, and pulled out a silver flask. She untwisted the cap quickly and placed it under her nose, keeping her eyes forward. She could not recognize the smell. It was not wine, but she wasn't about to let him in on her naiveté, so she nodded in pretend approval. Kakashi remained stoic through the entire display. She hadn't asked him how his injury had come about.

"What colour?" she asked, looking into the travel sewing kit resting on her lap and then looking up at him, her face expectant of a response.

Kakashi was bewildered, but managed a well-tempered "Just white will do fine."

"All the colours work the same, they will all do fine"

Kakashi looked at her, resignation in his eyes, he just wanted to be fit and ready to go. He was running late, even on his time. "I choose blue." He answered playing into her little game or genuine curiosity, Kakashi didn't have the energy to tell.

"That is not a choice", she reported after digging briefly around in her tin. Kakashi exhaled in annoyance, although this seemed to go unnoticed by Arisu as she lifted a spool of dark thread holding it close to her face, squinting at it.

"I think maybe this is blue, but I can't be sure, as daylight seems to be fading", she announced.

"Looks blue to me" Kakashi murmured, his eyes closed.

"You have to open your eyes to look at it", Arisu retorted.

"No I don't", he responded. Impatience got the better of him, "That is the one you will use to sew me up".

"Okay", she acquiesced, "don't be upset if tomorrow you wake up with olive green string stuck in your stomach".

"I love olive green", Kakashi stated in a matter of fact tone causing Arisu to laugh, nodding her head forward. She had a light laugh, the kind you would miss in a group setting.

"I suppose I'll get started" she said more to herself than him.

She shuffled closer to the wound. He felt the zipper of his flak jacket being tugged, she was the kind of person whose jaw slacked when they were concentrating rather than tightening and it accentuated her femininity, which took him off guard for just the smallest of moments.

Her hands were cold when she peeled his black shirt of his red and white skin, as tacky blood caused fabric to cling to his skin. She examined the wound. Solitary, as she thought, but it was deeper than she once assumed. She would probably have to get him to a medic tomorrow.

She looked at his face. He had his forearm draped over his eyes so she couldn't tell much of anything by watching his expression, so she turned away and began her work.

Kakashi had been watching her from beneath his arm, sharingan activated. He was monitoring her chakra, nothing special, just the standard untapped spindles of shining blue belonging to a civilian. He had thought that maybe she was like him. Her innocence seemed deliberately enhanced, he did not believe it was of malicious intent, but still he wondered why. All the women in his life seemed to always try and shed their innocence as soon as possible, like it was a piece of ruined clothing. "She must be using it to buy people's trust", he his practiced analytical mind though, "or perhaps she's merely frightened," he concluded.

The stitches, at first, only triggered minor discomfort, but as she drew nearer to the very centre of the wound it actually hurt. Kakashi closed his eyes and he felt his jaw tighten. He had experienced worse, which he repeated over and over in his mind. It will be over in ten minutes time. In nine minutes time. In eight, he counted.

Something rustled to the left of Arisu, she maintained her state of mind and shifted her eyes to where she thought she heard the noise. "It could be a wolf" she thought, "except wolves would be noisier, as they hunt in packs". She wondered how a five foot tall girl would deal with a pack of wolves, she imagined not well. If only the roles had been reversed, she brought her gaze back to supervise her hands, he could have carried her away like nothing. After a few moments she realized he might not have, after all she had noticed a porcelain mask, lit up orange be the sunset, when she had gone to retrieve the sewing kit. It had been thrown beneath a tree branch and she couldn't tell if intentionally, but she did know, good people have no need for a mask.

When she had finished she leant near to his stomach and tousled blonde hair brushed on his naval, his eyes opened beneath his arm. She bit the string, sat up and tied it in a very un-professional bow. Kakashi thanked her when she made it know she had finished. She seemed to brush his words off until he felt her tense up.

She blurted, "You're welcome", pausing before adding smoothly, "I'm glad I could help". She spoke in her politest tone, because she knew it was very rude to respond negligently to someone, and she felt she had to compensate somehow.

Awkward silence followed in the next few minutes, at least Arisu thought it such. Kakashi basked in the quiet, death was now at a comfortable distance, watching him from the trees rather than looming within arm's reach.

Arisu laid next to Kakashi without looking at him or asking permission, because of course, she thought nothing of it. Before Kakashi could say something she told him, "It's alright you can sleep, I won't, I'll keep my eyes on the tree lines. You don't have to worry about a thing". He made no indication of comfort or gratitude, simply slipping asleep. Arisu entertained for a small moment that actions might have more value than words, of course she knew this as false, but still it was interesting and without such entertainment she was afraid she might die of boredom.

Arisu lay there and turned her head toward him. She studied his face noticing the occasional indentation of an inflamed pore, a side effect of being human, and the slight hairs along his chin, a side effect of being male. She turned back to face the canopy and wished she could see the sky clearly, but she could only see the moon, divided in a perfect half like someone had folded it over in a first step to an origami. She closed her eyes.


	2. Winter Wonderland

When Kakashi opened his eyes next, the autumn leaves, like blood, had dried into a rusty brown. Some leaves had fallen with snow to curl onto the ground, others clung to the ends dark branches. When he breathed in the icy air, a sharpness caught in his throat. He shifted his gaze to his left and was greeted by her profile; Arisu's nose and cheeks tinged red, her lips a bluish kind of purple.

"It's like being dead", she mused, turning her face to meet his. They were both entirely dusted with snow, and damp due to snowflakes melting upon contact with their skin.

"We will be, unless we move soon", Kakashi warned.

Arisu closed her eyes. On her eyelashes were glistening snowflakes and on her mouth was a contented grin. Kakashi noticed his flask lay between them, morning sun made the silver container a blinding shade of white, and he wondered if the contents of that flask might have something to do with her behavior. When he attempted to stand, his wound threatened to split open; but he pushed past the feeling, a grimace smeared across his mouth. "To feel pain is to not be dead," he reminded himself, and reveled in the feeling of standing.

If not in the company of another person he would have shaken his legs about and done some elementary stretches, but he had never been much of a performer so he refrained. He did, however, watch her for a moment waiting to see if she would stand with him. She didn't seem to notice his movement, her eyes closed, that stupid grin still contorting her lips. He turned ready to leave all of whatever this was behind him. He was sure his village would love to know they had not in fact lost a valuable asset.

Arisu spoke then, "It's beautiful, snow so early in the fall, I've never seen it before", her voice matter of fact. She then sprung up, brushing the snow of her sides. Her back ached from resting on the forest floor for such a long night. She stretched down, wrapping her hands around her ankles. To her surprise she was burned by the touch of her own hands. She looked at her legs and hands with curious eyes. Her skin was blotchy pink from the cold, blue dress and blue eyes stood out stark by contrast. Arisu caught the glint of the flask on the snow. She did know how upset she would be if she ever forgot something so nice. So she picked up the flask and jabbed her arm toward him; presenting the flask to Kakashi she said, "I'm sorry all of it is gone, I spilt it on the forest floor when I was sewing you up, you see I forgot to screw the lid back on, and I must have knocked it with my foot".

"That's fine", dismissed Kakashi, who then paused before adding, "You keep it." Arisu smiled widely, graciously accepting the gift. She even curtsied. Kakashi had only not wanted an icy metal flask pressing in his back pocket.

"I need to get out of the forest" he told her, regaining his outward practicality, "I need to get somewhere warm, preferably with food"

"I can't even tell its cold anymore," Arisu shrugged. Kakashi looked at her as if to say "That is not a good thing." She didn't notice, she was staring into the palms of her hands. "My hands are so warm," she informed, stepping forward and lifting her hand to touch his cheek. Her hand did indeed burn him.

He tried again to make her understand, "The cold, as interesting as it is, will kill us."

Arisu seemed to ponder his words then said, "My father owns a hotel, I live there as well. I will take you there". She walked toward him, grabbing his hand as she passed and pulled him forward. Their height difference was dramatic, Kakashi had something of an entire foot on her. Kakashi bent over slightly in discomfort and Arisu slowed to walk next to him, taking two steps for every one of his, not letting go of his hand. Kakashi would have said something, but he thought it no use. He didn't really care after all.

The pair did not speak the rest of the way until a large brick building rose from the distance. The building looked foreign in the forest landscape, as even the paths that should lead to the place had been covered with snow. It was encircled with cast iron fencing intermingled with red brick posts. Evidence of a lush overgrown garden peeked out from beneatht the snow. Heavy grey sky hung over a dark slopped roof. The building's combined with its seclusion made it seem like a different world-to Kakashi at least. To Arisu this was home Kakashi noticed the large iron gates and overgrown greenery. He had been to his fair share of hotels, and this looked more like a mansion than a hotel.

"Business hasn't been great as of late", murmured Arisu before reconciling, "so we almost surely have a room for you".

She crunched forward into pristine snow, her red feet bare in shiny black shoes. She pushed the Iron Gate open, the fallen snow creating resistance. She turned bracing her back against the gate to push the thing with her entire weight, it budged a bit. She pushed again, Kakashi watched her. He did not want to rip open his healing wound after all.

Slightly out of breath Arisu met his gaze with thankless eyes. She stepped forward holding her arms out for balance, Kakashi, quite literally, followed in her footsteps. He was set on avoiding as much unnecessary contact with the snow as possible. He was not dealing with this entire scenario to drop dead in a frostbitten lump in the 'hotel' foyer.

Inside the mansion it was very dark; the only light was lent by two large shuttered windows and a brass lamp. The shutters were open the smallest amount as to cast bright stripes across the deep purple floor, which covered the entire floor and ran up the two large staircases leading to the second floor landing and a desk placed right in the middle, giving the room a very symmetrical look. There was a roundish man at the desk, his face anything but symmetrical.

Arisu skipped forward and leaned closer to the man across the counter, folding her hands beneath her chin, resting her elbows on the polished surface of the front desk.

"Hello Dee, how has your day been?" she looked into his face brightly.

"Better now that you're back Arisu," She nodded in agreement of his statement, feeling quite the same herself. She had missed being here terribly. Dee elaborated, "The Missus was giving me a hard time since I didn't know where you had gone."

Arisu stood on tip toe as she leaned further across the counter, the pressure causing the table to creak, to rest her hand fondly atop Dee's head, "I'm so very sorry Dee, I hadn't meant to be gone for such a long amount of time, but you see" there was a pout in her voice. She waved the hand not resting on Dee's head towards Kakashi, "I had to save this man's life."

"Your hand is cold miss," Said Dee seemingly unfazed by her announcement. He was very used to Arisu's stories after all, he had known her since she was a child.

Arisu immediately removed her hand, folding both of them in front of her. "I was out in the snow." She explained casting her eyes down, in embarrassment, before chirping a "Please forgive me."

Dee straightened up, nodding forward, accepting her apology.

"Anyway, what I need is a room for this man, the best one we have of course." She knew the more comfortable surroundings, the easier the body and soul healed, because this was her mother's excuse for always giving the greatest rooms to the weariest travelers, regardless of the patron's wealth.

Dee pushed a dense pad of paper towards Arisu, at the tip top of the page the number 204 was written in large childish writing. She looked at Kakashi, he had his hands in his pockets, and his eyes the most wary she had ever seen. She wondered for a heartbeat if his eyes were ever bright, but realized how silly that was. "Most everything that is dull, had to have been shiny at one point", she thought.

"Sign here," Dee said tapping the back of his pen next to the 2 0 4. He handed Kakasi the pen, who signed it with a loose hand. Arisu examined his handwriting. She exhaled heavily and turned to Kakashi.

"Dee, here, will take care of you for now, Okay?" she said to Kakashi.

"Okay", Kakashi answered, hands still deep in his pockets and wondering why he was still even here.

Arisu disappeared into a short serving door, coloured in the same dark as the rest of the room, Kakashi previously hadn't noticed. He turned back to face Dee.

Dee began ascending the left staircase, each of his steps made the stairs whine. When Dee reached the landing and noticed the lack of the newest patron, he looked down, red faced and breathless, at Kakashi. Without verbal prompting Kakashi followed, slowly and awkwardly in an effort not to disturb his wound.

"I could've carried you, you know", Dee huffed, "It is my job to make sure the company is one hundred percent comfortable." Dee's tone changed near the end of the sentence, adopting a tone which made Kakashi think he had been quoting somebody, probably the boss.

The pair shuffled down a hall, in a manner that might have looked like the purple carpeting and dark paneling might belong to a hospital. They were both in rough shape.

"I'll leave you with Doa", Dee said, gesturing toward the end of the hall, before turning and waddling back the way he had come.

"This was strange" Kakashi decided. He had seen his share of strange things, except they usually occurred in and around bars or asylums. Now the dark halls, a woman at the end of the hall with both wiry limbs and hair, mopping the ceiling. Kakashi looked up, staining his eyes, at the bit of ceiling directly above his head. Wet. He refocused on the woman he assumed was Doa and shuffled forward. He had no energy to yell, but he had hoped he wouldn't have to walk all the way down the hall, only to be spun round and sent back.

When he had reached what he imagined was within earshot he said, "Doris, excuse me, Dee left me with you."

"Oh," she mouthed, stretching the jaw of a very mousy face. She stood there a moment more with the dripping mop suspended above her head.

"Now"? She asked, her voice deep and full.

"Now." Kakashi said, his gaze dropping to the side in minute annoyance.

"Okay, just give me one moment." She said holding up a long bony finger for emphasis, or perhaps because she was entirely too used to not being heard. She lowered the mop, grasped it horizontally in both hands and trudged away from Kakashi to the end of the hall, the mop dripping all the way. Kakashi took a step thinking this que similar to Dee's, meaning to follow; however, she slammed herself into the last room on the left hand side.

Arisu emerged from the room two down and across from the door which Doris disappeared, cleaned up and clothed in an emerald silk dressing gown. Arisu glanced up and down the hall before retreating back into the room. She pretended not to notice Kakashi, for she had only looked out to see if he was settled in a room yet. Her question had been answered when she saw him standing there, after all. Kakashi was left in disbelief.

Doa returned to the hall, her hair now pulled back in a neat bun. "I can take you to your room now." She walked past him, and Kakashi felt his heart drop. He turned back around and the hall loomed before him, but Doris stopped midway and rudely pointed at the room decorated by a large brass 204, before reaching into her shirt and pulling out a ring of silver keys. She had to try at least two of them before the door swung open, and in this time Kakashi was able to make his way back down the hall. He nodded a thanks before entering and slamming the door behind him with a squinted eye smile. Doris stomped down the hall at what she perceived as insincere gratitude.

Kakashi crashed straight onto the king-size canopy bed, only to stumble in and out of sleep. In the moments he slept he dreamt of dancing cleaning products and twisted hallways (He also dreamt of green silk, but that is hardly appropriate). In the moments he was awake he admitted how strange such dreams were, but welcomed them as a change in pace from dreams of his past.

The sound of knocks on the dark door woke him. His throat felt tight so he melted out of bed to answer the door. Anyone who knocks nine, now ten, times will not be deterred any time soon, so ignoring them was not an option. It was Arisu. He was relieved to see her when he opened the door, he certainly had no desire to see anyone else. Arisu looked at him a while, examining him. He must look terrible.

"I brought you coffee." She said before adding, "But I'm afraid it might be cool because you didn't hurry to the door."

"That's fine." Kakashi exhaled and looked down into the silver tray she was holding. There was a blue cup of coffee in the center of the tray, a small pyramid of sugar cube on the left side and a porcelain saucer of crème on the right. There was no need for a tray. She lifted the tray, Kakashi stepped aside to let her in. Arisu set the tray on the dresser at the end of the bed.

"Do you want company"? She asked, looking down at the tray.

Kakashi stood his hand on the handle, keeping it open. He sincerely considered her request, but he didn't have an answer; so naturally, he changed the subject.

"Is there a medic I could see"? He smiled emptily.

"No, I mean Dum is a chef, he deals with knives and meat, so he might be able," her eyes cast toward the ceiling in thought.

Kakashi cut her off there "I'll be fine," he reconciled closing his eyes. He made no move to close the door. Arisu walked toward him, her feet only in shear nude stocking.

"You should at least be cleaned up," she reasoned reaching out her left hand for the hem of his shirt. Kakashi stepped away.

"I can handle it." He defended.

"I have a son, you know, I'm good at these things." She explained, but brought her hands to her side.

A mild surprise lit his features and Arisu pretended not to notice, after all if he wanted her to know something he would ask. She shifted her weight, folding her hands in front of her.

"Do you want me to stay"? She asked looking into his eyes.

"I'll be okay," said Kakashi.

"I know you will be, either way. Arisu smiled, it's only preference."

He looked at this girl a moment before answering, "I'm just going to sleep, you should leave." He let the words fall without thought, as they would make the decision for him.

She nodded and left the room, wishing him a good night. Kakashi sat on the edge of the soft bed. He peeled off his clothing, leaving them in a crusty pile on the floor. He danced a finger along his incision, he felt an excess of string. Looking down he saw black thread woven into his skin and tied into a juvenile bow that was currently plastered to his skin by dry blood. He walked into the small bathroom, cradling his wound, and flicked on the light. Four white walls and porcelain fixtures were doused in a muted yellow colour, softening the space. The artificial light buzzed on his skin, it was a surprising comfort.

He emerged from the bathroom an eternity later folded into a white robe and blotting his face on a fluffy towel. He perched on the edge of his bed. As he descended to reality he became aware of a presence in the room, beneath his bed to be precise. He remained sitting mulling over options, he swung his feet so the hit against the bed frame. Another thump followed, not created by him. High pitched giggles erupted from the culprit. He bent down to peer beneath the bed, a preeminent glare on his face. He was met by a pair of yellow green eyes shining in the darkness.


	3. To a Tea

A child. What else could it be? A few hours in this dark house had him believing in ghosts for the smallest of moments. The child, after crawling from beneath the bed, looked at Kakashi tilting his head to the side. Long tawny hair fell into the child's eyes as he folded his hands behind his back.

"Who are you?" the child whispered, dragging out each word.

Kakashi stood to guide the child out. He assumed this was Arisu's son. The child followed the movement with curious eyes. Peering up at Kakashi the child asked "Why are you so tall?"

"Why are you so short?" Kakashi retorted. He hadn't meant to sound so childish, but still rose his eyebrows expectant of an answer. Kakashi seemed to have triggered the poor boy. Tan skin of the child's face now burned crimson. The child pouted and brought his arms cross on his chest.

"I'm telling Mom," the boy huffed, spinning on a small bare foot to head toward the chamber door. He reached toward the brass nob, having to resort to tip toe to open the door. The little boy left the door open behind him and took off running the force shaking the floor beneath Kakashi's feet.

Kakashi lumbered forward to shut the door, turning back to make his way back to the comfort of cotton sheets, a flash of silver caught his attention. Arisu's tray still rested on the dresser at the foot of the bed. Kakashi hadn't touched her gift, he hadn't even played with the idea as he didn't need caffeine racing through his veins. He plucked the cup up off the tray. The cool contents, full to the brim, sloshed onto his wrist. He continued more carefully to the bathroom. He left the warm yellow lights of the bathroom off, and rinsed the drink right down the sink. Perhaps he would tell her in the morning coffee inhibits rest, or maybe he would fake gratitude. He set the now empty tea cup back in the center of the tray.

The following morning Arisu arrived again in similar fashion as she had before; this time she was wrapped in a simple black robe and she had tucked her hair behind her ears upon which pearls in gold setting shined. She smiled up at him.

"You should come down for morning tea." Arisu suggested with light in her eyes, adding "Only if you want to of course."

Kakashi agreed, the darkness of the place and Arisu's face had whittled away at his guard. The pair walked down the hall side by side. The carpet beneath their feet soft as the glow of the long finger like white candles adorning the walls. Silence suited them both, Arisu didn't want him to feel as if she was prying after all, and Kakashi dared not break it lest it cut like broken glass.

She led him to a large dining room just off the left side of the foyer concealed by two dark stain glass doors. The walls of this room were finished in an old fashioned pink floral pattern. Some of the edges, subject to time, curled up at meeting the baseboards. The only furniture inside the room was a dark dining set consisting of one long table and seven well worked chairs. A shelf of cherry wood ran all around the uppermost eighth of the walls, and on this shelf was every teapot imaginable; Red and blue, some painted to look like landscapes, others flaunted slogans in foreign languages, a few were broken displayed in neat stacks of jagged glass, all caked in grey dust - One was even shaped like an overweight cat, black, sporting a wild expression. The table was set for three, not in the traditional sense with silver cutlery and china, but three teacups and saucers were concentrated around the furthest end of the table. Arisu pulled out the chair at the head of the table, the legs scratching against bare floors.

"Here" she said, nodding her head. She bit her lip trying to stop the flow of words erupting from her throat. She hadn't wanted to bother him, so naturally she desperately avoided eye contact.

Kakashi watched her, her change in behaviour confused him. He felt it too long since he had heard her say something ridiculous, something refreshing. To encourage her he resorted to the bluntest of social tools and asked her a question, "Why did you bring me coffee last night?"

Arisu seemed pained by the introduction of a question. She felt her ingrained principles tear and by consequence she herself tore, she imagined right in two, like brittle parchment. The guest had asked a question. It was only right to answer the question as truthfully and politely as possible. "To help you rest," she explained, "It's always nice to have a warm drink before bed, isn't it?

Kakashi normally did not feel it necessary to arbitrarily point out flaws in people's logic, but this answer wasn't her. "Yes," he admitted "but coffee has caffeine in it, keeping you awake."

"I know." Arisu defended without a moment's hesitation. Her hair fell from behind her ear like the sound of her own voice startled it, and she quickly raised her hand to move it back into place. "At first the caffeine gives you an energy high, but the low that comes after the crash essentially forces you to sleep. The higher you fly the harder you fall", she tailed off wringing her hands. Kakashi frowned bemused by her twisted logic.

A woman barged in from the stain glass double doors. Her hair wound into a dark knot at the back of her head pulled her eyebrows into a perfect arch, and she was dressed entirely in ruby red. Her wide mouth was a tight line and two deep expression lines had been aged into her forehead, with eyes identical to Arisu's in colour but opposite in shape.

"Kakashi, it's nice to meet you." She extended a gloved hand decorated with crimson jewelled rings. Kakashi didn't react immediately, not used to the custom of shaking hands in greeting. She smiled and he noticed she had taken the time to paint her thin lips rose red.

"What do you think of Arisu?" The woman asked nodding towards the girl before looking tentatively back at Kakashi. He was at a loss for words and was hit with an incredible urge to tuck himself into himself like an armadillo and roll right out of the room and down the eight front steps of such a damned place. Kakashi was embarrassed by this strange thought. The woman broke into an obnoxious laughter, she threw her head back and Arisu lent a conscientious smile.

"I see." wiping a tear from her left eye, she said "well pull out a chair, whichever you favor."

Kakashi walked toward where Arisu had directed him prior. Arisu ducked out of the way, nestling into the chair to his left. The woman watched this, a smirk on her mouth before taking the chair to his right. She snapped her fingers and smiled past Kakashi. Doa fell into the room, an ornate silver teapot in tow. Doa scrambled about the room, unsure of how to approach seemingly anything, until at last she placed it between the three and two teardrops worth of water spilt onto the table. Doa made no effort to tidy her mess only covering both of her ears, stretched long from years of wearing heavy earrings, and scurried back the way she came.

"So," the woman began folding both hands beneath her chin "Kakashi, what would _you_ say is your most prominent trait"? She dabbed the tea drops with the tips of her gloved fingers. The tea darkened the ruby red cloth.

Kakashi stared into his empty tea cup before looking up smiling "My love for rainy weather and tea. Oh and speaking of which, what kind will we be served today"?

The woman grinned, "Evasiveness," she announced, "You most prominent trait is evasiveness," she waved her hand in dismissal, "of course someone's most apparent trait is never who they really are." She reached a slender gloved hand toward the teacup centered in front of her and began serving it. Arisu was examining the teapots along the top of the walls even though she knew each by heart.

"Of course you would have noticed my directness" the woman pointed, "so on such a surface level we are opposites, or compliments depending on your perspective." She passed the tea pot to Kakashi, her hands steady.

Sipping her tea she asked "So you met Aoi, last evening?"

Kakashi remembered the questioning light green eyes. He nodded.

"He was interested to meet you, he hardly meets anyone after all, Arisu keeps him safe here, just like I have for her." The room fell to silence once more. Arisu exhaled heavily.

"She's wary of startling you," The woman said dropping one, two, three sugar cubes into her own ornate cup. "Her last man left her quite suddenly, and all do to unhappiness."

Kakashi couldn't help but glance at Arisu's face at this brash truth. Arisu looked forward a heightened straightness in her posture. "So," The woman continued, "you must understand her behavior means nothing toward you. I expect you empathize with wounded hearts after all."

Kakashi now became the one who stared ahead in artificial steadiness. The woman place the spoon onto the wooden table. "I suspect she wants to marry you." She said not even looking up. Kakashi stood then in one graceful motion, still the abruptness tore his wound. He placed his hand over it turning to the side as to hide the blood her felt seeping through his shirt to dampen his hands.

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I have other commitments to keep," his gaze meandered about the room, "I have to go, I'm afraid by now I'm awfully late." He raised his unpreoccupied hand to scratch the back of his fluffy white head. A single drop of blood dripped to the floor. Arisu noticed and rushed over to him. She stepped closer placing her hand over his and opening her mouth to speak. Kakashi watched her in the artificial light, a very different light than he had first seen her.

She guided him into an adjoining room. The room predominantly green lined by shelves of leather bound books and a heavy desk scattered with papers, candle stumps, and feather pens. From the center of the mess rose a smooth globe, a patchwork of precious stone. Kakashi noticed The Land of Fire, a purple obsidian blotch. The woman in red stood in the door way and watched as Arisu helped him onto the dark suede lounge chair perpendicular to the desk. She whisked to the desk, collecting the papers and knocking them into a neat stack against the table top. From beneath her red glove she pulled a simple silver key and used it to lock the papers into the desk.

"Sorry about the mess, we hardly let guests into this room. It's the head office after all." She said as she turned to face the pair, arms cross on her chest. She walked behind the desk and sat in the green armchair. "Arisu, go get the bandages from the kitchen" Arisu stood up prompt nodding toward the woman. She walked back into the dining room to exit through the double doors. The darkness of the study made the pink walled dining room look brilliant.

"To whom do you owe commitment more than to those who have saved your life?" The woman asked him once Arisu had left. She was resting her face against one palm, her head tilting to the side. One long shining earing fell against her cheek. Kakashi noticed a keloid scar peeking out from her high neckline. "Would they not want you to answer such a question?" she persisted when Kakashi had only looked at her with sunken eyes.

"I'm bleeding, I do not feel like talking" Kakashi breathed, leaning his head back on the arm of the chair, shuffling the rest of himself into a more comfortable position.

"Suit yourself." She said "but, what you don't tell, time will." She exited then, her floor length skirt blooming as she turned from him.

Arisu didn't return for a while. Kakashi wondered about the books and the papers. He was captivated by the shining globe, but as he began to move toward the desk Arisu returned white bandages in both her hands and a small tawny hair boy at her ankles.

She knelt next to Kakashi, guiding Aoi next to her. He stood watching diligently as Arisu fixed Kakashi up with her cold hands. Arisu instructed Aoi in what she was doing, telling him why and how to stop bleeding and such other details in simple language. She did not address Kakashi once. Kakashi didn't mind. He enjoyed watching her like this. Arisu, on the other hand, had only meant to distance herself from Kakashi by not speaking to him. She knew very well it was not dignified to pursue somebody who did not return such interests.

Aoi, however had other ideas. He interrogated Kakashi for personal details, even once asking innocently "Are you my father?"

Arisu her mind and hands steady answered, "No my caterpillar, he's not. Do you see his eyes? His are dark, and yours are light."

Aoi went on, "But he's tall like me."

Arisu placed a hand atop her sons head. "Yes" she admitted, "only a coincidence." She kissed the boy's nose and he giggled. Kakashi felt awfully extrinsic, but to any ignorant observer the group would in fact look quite quaint - minus the blood of course.


End file.
